After a long, tough season, goals were finally in sight for juniors Scott Owen and Ryan Egan.

Both NIU wrestlers entered the NCAA tournament with aspirations of a national championship and All-American honors. But after a grueling two days against the nation’s best wrestlers, the pair fell short on the tourney’s second day Friday.

Owen went into the competition riding a 13-match winning streak and used the momentum well Thursday, dominating his first match against Purdue’s Clovis Crane with a 14-3 major decision. The Mid-American Conference champion continued his climb through the 157-pound weight bracket with a 5-3 overtime victory over Illinois’ Griff Powell, and he entered Friday’s matches as the lone unseeded wrestler left at 157.

But Owen’s winning streak ended against No. 6-seeded Luke Becker of Minnesota. The 9-5 decision pushed Owen into wrestlebacks against No. 5-seeded Kirk White of Boise State, who downed him 6-3.

“It was a very close match, and Scott wrestled hard against someone [White] who was a national champion two years ago,” NIU coach Dave Grant said. “Scott wrestled well but came up short. He was up 3-1 going into the second period, but White took him down and gained riding time, and Scott just wasn’t able to make those points up.”

Owen ended the season with a team-leading 32-6 record, including a perfect 7-0 showing in the MAC.

At 141 pounds, Egan began his tournament in a tough spot, facing No. 8 seed Charles Walker of Oklahoma, who beat him by decision, 6-2. In wrestlebacks, Egan saved himself from elimination by defeating Maryland’s Mark Mansueto by a 15-4 major decision.

From there Egan faced familiar foe Ralph Lopez of Fresno State, whom he had defeated earlier in the season at the Lone Star Duals. But he was unable to duplicate that performance Friday, as Lopez ended Egan’s hopes of an All-American honor.

“Ryan had another close match … but he didn’t get the win,” Grant said. “He was tied in the third period but fell behind. Then he had to score points and he wasn’t able to come back.”

Egan closed out the season with a 24-12 overall record. Grant said Owen and Egan were instrumental figures in NIU’s first winning season in 12 years.

“This was a valuable experience for both Scott and Ryan,” the coach said. “Having them back for one more year will help the program, and we have a lot of other guys ready to join them here at nationals. This is definitely something to build on for next year.”